HOME
by aliceistiny
Summary: Summary inside. Family/Romance/Drama. One sided Ichigo/Orihime, with Ichigo/Rukia and slight Rukia/Renji. Bleach fan-fic. AU. ENJOI!
1. Nel Joins the Family

**I'm back! I'm back, I'm back, I'm BACK! :D This is so exciting! Have you guys missed me? I've missed you guys! I finally got over that writer's block! YAY!**

**Okay, so this is new, I'm doing a BLEACH fan-fic. I'm not done with the series yet and I'm actually going to start passed where I am so I'm going to be making it up as I go. It's set after they get Orihime back from Heuco Mundo.**

**One-sided Ichigo/Orihime with Ichigo/Rukia and slight Rukia/Renji.**

**Summary****: Ichigo and friends return to Karakura Town from Hueco Mundo with a new member, the little Arrancar Nel. Seeing as how Nel has a strange attachment to Ichigo, he's in charge of taking care of her. How will Soul Society feel about this and how does Rukia feel about him?**

**The summary sucks, blehhh. Oh well.**

******DISCLAIMER: I'm only doing this once so pay attention! **_**I DO NOT OWN BLEACH NOR WILL I EVER OWN BLEACH.**_

**Enjoi!**

* * *

><p>"I-ITSYGOOO!"<p>

I spun around to face the portal to Hueco Mundo and, of course, I saw the little Arrancar, Nel, running towards me. The green haired three-year old had tears streaming down her face and her arms spread open towards me. Damn this kid, couldn't she leave me alone?

Sighing, as well as rolling my eyes, I opened my arms as she leapt into them and buried her face in my chest while she shook with tears. I patted her back soothingly so as to calm her down and it seemed to work, seeing as how her sobs quieted down and her shaking reduced to a little twitch every now and then.

"Shh, Nel, it's okay," I reassured her, hugging her close. "What's wrong? Where's, uh…where's your 'brothers'?"

"N-Nel wants t-t-to stay with Itsygo!" she cried into my chest, her tiny hands gripping onto my Shihakusho tightly as to ensure I don't push her away or set her down on the floor. "N-Nel still wants to pway with Itsygo!"

Again, I rolled my eyes and looked back at the others for a little assistance. They just smirked at me. Bastards. I turned my attention back to the child in my arms and saw that she was looking up at me with those big, round eyes of hers that were a murky grey color.

"Nel…now, it's _really_ time for us to say goodbye. I have to stay here in the World of the Living and you need to go back to your brothers and Bawabawa in Hueco Mundo. We'll see each other again," I told her, hoping to let her down easy so she'll leave happy knowing we might see each other again.

Her lip quivered at me telling her this and her eyes watered even more. Oh no. She was going to cry again. I hugged her to me right when she opened her mouth to yell out, "I wanna stay with Itsygo! Nel wants to stay with Itsygo!"

She beat her little hands against my chest and sobbed and I just held her to me, waiting for her to calm down so I can leave her but no. It didn't look like she was going to give up on staying with me. I sighed.

"FINE!" I yelled, exasperated and tired. I just wanted to get home. "You can stay with me, Nel."

I could feel Rukia and Renji smirk at me and Inoue smiling in adoration. So what, I had a soft spot for the kid! Who can blame me? Sure, she's annoying and stuff but there's something about her and she just wants to stay with me. It's cute, but the others don't need to know that. Nope, I can keep that to myself. Yup, all to myself. No one will ever know…

* * *

><p>I adjusted Nel on my shoulders as Renji, Rukia, Inoue, and I all headed back to our homes, Chad and Ishida having parted ways with us a couple blocks prior. The child had insisted on riding on my shoulders and I could feel her drool on my head in her sleep. Gross, but at least she was asleep.<p>

Inoue walked silently by my side, looking down at her feet and not saying a word. I wondered what was troubling her but I wasn't going to push her if she wasn't going to talk. Rukia and Renji walked on my other side, also not saying a word. What was with everyone?

Inoue suddenly stopped walking, her head low as she looked down at her hands. We all stopped as well to face her but she still looked at the ground. Rukia was the one to step forward, her hand raised slightly towards Inoue, reaching out as a way to comfort.

"Inoue…is something wrong?" the midget asked, concern etched into her tone.

Inoue finally lifted her head and gave her a strained smile, her right arm gripping her left at the elbow. She was holding something back and I wanted to know what it was. "No, K-Kuchiki-san, I'm fine," she assured us, not doing a very good job at it.

Inoue turned to me then, her lip twitching as a small forced smile. "I-I'll walk the rest of the way myself, Kurosaki-kun," she said, adding on to our worry for her.

"Are you sure?" I asked, lifting Nel off of me slightly to give her to Rukia but Inoue raised a hand as a gesture saying, 'Let her rest.' Inoue simply nodded at me and waved to us as she began walking by herself, her shoulders hunched somewhat. Now I was really starting to worry.

* * *

><p>"ICHIGOOO!" my father roared as he lunged to tackle me to the ground but I reflexively lifted my leg and kicked him in the face, sending him flying back into the wall. This man never gives up, does he? But he's my father so I'm stuck until I can get out of this place.<p>

Rukia walked in ahead of me and settled Nel, now in her little gigai from Urahara, on the couch. The green haired Arrancar instantly curled into a little ball hugged the nearest thing to her, that being Kon, and nuzzled her head into the stuffed animal. The action in itself was adorable, Rukia and I smiling at little Nel. Maybe her being here wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Oh, Masaki, look!" exclaimed my mental father as he hugged the poster of my mother with tears running happily down his face. "Only gone a few weeks and Ichigo has brought home our first grandchild with Rukia-chan!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rukia cough awkwardly with a hint of a blush on her cheeks. She's blushing? Why would she be blushing? I mean, yeah, what my dad said was awkward and embarrassing but she shouldn't be blushing unless…? Could she-? Does she-? No, she couldn't, she's Rukia! Why would she…and for _me_?

"HEY! Old man, the kid isn't ours! You crazy…!" I yelled at my insane father, but he just went on and on about how he knew Rukia was 'the one for me' and how Nel was 'the cutest grandchild we could ever produce.' Nel doesn't even look like either me OR Rukia!

I sighed as I gathered the sleeping, and drooling, Nel into my arms and carried her into my room, Rukia trailing behind me as we left my father to his crying and assumptions. Crazy old man. I couldn't have a normal father, could I?

* * *

><p><strong>Well, what do you think so far? I'm not done with the series yet so I'm going to be wrong about a few things…okay, wrong about a lot of things so don't get mad. I'm basically improvising this whole story so go easy on me! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it. I'm a reviewcomment whore so feel free to, well, REVIEW! Thanks :D**

**-alice**


	2. School Pt 1

**Update time! :D OH, how I love writing new chapters for you guys :D So How has everyone's week(s) been? **

**Anyways…here's what happened in the last chapter:**

**-Ichigo and the gang returned safely in Karakura Town, bringing back Orihime with their newest addition, arrancar Nel.**

**-Nel has a little gigai, courtesy of Urahara, and is staying with Ichigo and his family.**

**-Isshin is still the crazy dad he is and was yelling about how Ichigo and Rukia brought home Nel, his "grandchild."**

**And there you have it, you're all caught up! Yay!**

**ENJOI!**

**PS: Yes, everyone is very OOC in this story so bear with me…**

* * *

><p><em>The next day<em>

Moist. That was the first thing I was aware of when I woke up, I was moist. More specifically, my face was moist…no, moist is an understatement. My face is WET. I open my eyes to see Nel's face above mine, her big little smile stretched wide across her face…with drool coming down from the corners of her lips and in between the gaps of her teeth!

I yelled in disgust and pushed her face away from mine immediately, not wanting any more drool on me than I already had. She only stretched her arms out towards me, mumbling something against the palm of my hand, her hands grabbing at me. I only pushed her away further, to the point where she got too close to the edge of my small bed and fell over.

I quickly sat up and looked over the edge of my bed at her body lying on my floor. She slowly sat up, her big green-ish/murky grey eyes looking at me on the verge of tears and her lower lip quivering. Her small hand reached up and rubbed the back of her head then her lower back. Her eyes looked away from me, to her little toes, and I could see a tear slide down her face.

Guilt instantly washed over and I cursed to the highest Heavens for making this kid so damn cute. Sighing with a roll of my eyes, I got out of bed and picked her up off of the floor, holding her close to my chest. I rested my head against hers, our hairs intermingling with each other and I rubbed her back soothingly. Nel sniffled and buried her head in my chest, gripping on to my shirt.

"S-sowry, Itsygo…" apologized little Nel, her eyes still cast down in shame and hurt. Damn this kid and my sweet spot for her…

I patted her back lightly, reassuring her that everything was okay. I pulled her head away from my chest so I could look at her face, her round curious eyes were red and puffy from her tears and I gently wiped them away with my thumb.

"There, there. It's okay, Nel," I told her. "Just…don't drool on me anymore, okay? I'm sorry I pushed you." Her only response being a small sniffle, and she looked up at me with her round eyes and nodded slowly. That's a good girl.

I was still holding her when my closet door slid open and out popped Rukia, wearing our school uniform and ready to go. She looked irritated at first but her eyes noticeably softened at the sight of me holding Nel, whose eyes were fighting to stay awake in my arms. Poor kid must be exhausted.

The midget hopped out of my closet and landed lightly on her feet in front of me. She took the tired three-year-old away from me, cradling her in her small arms while giving me a look that said, "go get ready, I'll protect her." And so I went to get ready.

* * *

><p><em>Twenty minutes later…<em>

"I-Itsygooo! Don't go! Don't weave me!" Nel cried as my father held her struggling form in his arms. Her hazel eyes swimming with sadness at being abandoned, begging me not to leave her; her small arms reaching out for me to hold her once more.

Rukia had left to school already, leaving me here to deal with Nel's separation issues. The damn midget…I'll get her back when/if I ever get to school.

I sighed and reluctantly held my arms out for Nel, the little ex-Espada happily leaping into them and hugging onto my shirt. I kneeled down and placed her in front of me, looking at her in one of Rukia's shirts that went past Nel's feet. I'm really going to regret this one day…

I looked from Nel to my father, sighing as I stood back up and Nel took hold of my hand. "Oi, old man, I'm going to need some of Yuzu and Karin's old baby clothes."

I didn't need to ask if he had them still, the psycho kept everything from our childhood, hoping that one day he would give them to his precious grandbabies. My excited father gladly hurried off to fetch Nel some clothes, yelling about how his first grandchild would look so cute in the twins' old outfits. I rolled my eyes. Typical Dad.

I looked down at Nel who was staring up at me with joy, drool escaping the corners of her mouth. She held on tightly to my hand, rocking back and forth slightly, making my arm sway with her. Damn kid and her obsession with me…even if it was sort of cute.

Damn my soft spot for her.

* * *

><p>Nel sat happily on my shoulders in one of the twins' old outfits with a little backpack on her shoulders. She hummed in victory as we headed to my school, smug at the fact that I'm bringing her with me. BRAT. I should put her in a corner and leave her but she'd probably cry like crazy. SIGH. What a pain.<p>

We were turning the last corner to get to school and I could already hear what people are going to say about Nel. _Who's that kid? WHOSE kid is that? Why does Ichigo have a kid? _Millions of thoughts ran through my head by I pushed them all away and kept walking. I couldn't turn back now.

Here's to a LONG day of school.

* * *

><p><strong>Short, I know Dx I'm really trying to make them longer. I think I'm gonna post two more stories because I have issues with sticking to one story. REVIEW, please. I'd really appreciate it :D<strong>

**-alice**


	3. School, Pt 3

**You all probably hate me and that's to be expected because it's been a looooong year and something-months. I have no excuse for suddenly disappearing but I hope to make it up by continuing this story(: **

**Recap:**

**-Ichigo and Rukia brought Nel back to Karakura.**

**-Nel now lives with the Kurosakis.**

**-Nel refuses to let Ichigo go to school so he is forced to take her with him.**

_**Let the chaos ensue!**_

**ENJOI!**

* * *

><p><em>Ichigo's POV:<em>

I hadn't stepped a mere five feet into school when I heard the whispering start as I trudged to the building with Nel at my side. Heads turned almost instantly to me with each step I took, Nel smiling brightly at all of the spectators without a care in the world for being judged. I grumbled to myself and picked up Nel, placing her on top of my shoulders as I pushed open the doors to school. Once again, heads snapped to me on cue and I continued to trudge down the hall. I made a sharp left into the open door of my class and was greeted with the sight of my friends, sighing in relief.

"Ichigo!" cried Keigo as he leapt towards me but I took a step to my right at the last second, sending him flying into the chalk board at the front of the class.

I shrugged and headed to my desk that directly next to Rukia's, lifting Nel off of my shoulders and sitting her in my seat. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Rukia hold out her hand towards me and I handed her Nel's backpack without question. I pulled out three thick books out of my backpack and stacked them under Nel, acting as a booster seat, as Rukia pulled out her own sketchpad and crayons for Nel to occupy herself with.

Nel smiled at both of us widely, making us smile back at her in turn. I could feel several eyes burning into my back and I looked over my shoulder to find the entire class and our teacher staring at me and Rukia. I raised an eyebrow at them and pulled a juicebox out of my bag, setting it on my desk next to the crayons. _Che, let them stare,_ I thought to myself.

"Thank you, Itsygo and Wukia!" Nel exclaimed happily, practically bouncing in my seat.

I scoffed and ruffled her hair while Rukia simply nodded and gathered a chair for me from the back of the room, forcing the class to disperse and head to their own seats. Of course, this meant that the dreaded whispering ensued again, even worse than before because mine and Rukia's little spectacle drew her into the whispering as well.

"_Who's the kid?...Did Kurosaki-kun and Kuchiki-san adopt a kid?...Are they playing house together?...I always knew they'd become parents together…Looks like THEY wasted no time at all…"_

I gripped the edge of my seat tightly, gritting my teeth together. How dare they disrespect Rukia's image like that. My image? Fine, I'm used to it, but leave Rukia out of it. Out of nowhere, I felt a dainty hand on my forearm and I turned my head to find Rukia scribbling nonchalantly in her notebook. The right side of my mouth twitched up into a crooked smile as I watched her. _Maybe the day won't be so long, after all,_ I thought to myself.

* * *

><p>The bell sounded for the end of the school day and I began to pack up my stuff, Rukia standing next to me with a napping Nel in her arms. Surprisingly, the day had gone off without much more than some whispering in the hall. I slung my bag over my shoulder and took Rukia's in one hand as I followed her home. We were falling behind the others, which included Ishida, Orihime, Chad, and Tatsuki, as they all chatted about their day.<p>

High pitched, distorted screams rang in the air and we all froze in our tracks. Hollows. I glanced at Rukia whose hold noticeably tightened around Nel and Ishida nodded at me from the corner of my eye. I returned the gesture and pulled my Shinigami badge from my pocket, slamming it against my body to release my Shinigami form as Chad caught my body. I gave Rukia and Nel one more look before Ishida and I took off to take care of the hollows.

* * *

><p><em>Rukia's POV<em>_:_

Ichigo gave me and Nel a final glance before he Shunpo'd out of sight with Ishida. I suppose Nel sensed it because she chose at that moment to wake up. I watched the recognition that Ichigo was gone cross her features before she turned her head towards the direction he left in. Her child voice called out his name before turning her focus to me as I made my way to Orihime, Chad, and Tatsuki. Orihime silently reached for Nel and I relinquished my hold on the Arrancar before removing a small pack of tissues from my bag that Ichigo had dropped when he left his body.

"Kuchiki-san, shall we go to my house and wait for Kurosaki-kun and Ishida-san?" posed Orihime with her bright smile and I nodded in agreement.

Chad picked up Ichigo's body and I gathered Nel from Orihime, simultaneously drying the tears I had prepared for as Nel softly cried for Ichigo. Poor child loved him so much. She wrapped her arms around my pale neck, crying into my shoulder as we ventured to Orihime's apartment not too far from where we were. _You better come back unscathed, baka,_ I thought silently, _this child would break if she saw you wounded._

* * *

><p><strong>Short, yes, but better than nothing. I'm not sure if you've noticed but down below there's a little review boxbutton. I'd appreciate it if you wrote me a little something to inspire me to work(: Hope you liked this chapter.**

**-alice**


End file.
